Warming up issue.

[MrBen]

I seem to have a problem with my idle at startup during this time of year. It is especially worse this year.

Upon start up when it has been cool (30s at night) it will rev up like normal to 2k. Sometimes, it will all of the sudden by itself just pop up to 3k for no reason after a few minutes of warming up. If I touch the gas pedal, it will rev up to 4k and stay there, then kick down to 3k, then I will have to manually kick it down again about 10 minutes later and it will go to 1.5k, then to regular idle at 750.

It doesn't bother me a whole lot, but sometimes it is really annoying. It only happens in the morning when I start up my car and never does it any other time.

I took it to the mechanic, he said there was an idle controller (I forgot what it was called) and said it was working just fine, but very slow to warm up. He said it would be about 150 dollars to replace. He cleaned it up and it's better, but not that noticeably.

I just wanted your opinons on what the problem is and/or what you would do.

[NXRacer]

sounds like maybe the idle control valve is going out. You may also want to replace your thermostat if it hasnt been replaced recently, although that wouldnt necessarily cause the idle to do that. There have been a few people lately with that same problem. A quick search will probably get you a better answer then mine.

[danronian]

Sounds like a carb problem. Try the carb section. I would say air in the coolant lines, but it's not efi.

[MrBen]

That's interesting you say that, because one day when it was idling that high, coolant burst out of the radiator cap. I bought a new cap and hasn't had the problem since.

Oh, and if my question was answered by searching, I wouldn't have asked. Thanks anyway.

[MrBen]

BTW, the radiator and cooling system was pressure tested and topped off and is fine.

Also I found the name of the part. He says it is the Choke Stat.

[Justin86]

Does your fast idle work on the carb?

[3rd GEN]

sounds like a sticky choke

[A20A1]

Choke stat?

Maybe it's a thermovalve hooked up the the choke. Or the sensor on the block.

[HondaBoy]

ive had similar problems. mine problem was a busted vacuum line. those like to go bad on you and leave you wondering about all things but the line. i know my carb acts funky in cold weather. it will run rich when you first start it from being left for a long time. it will have dark exhaust at that time but will not stay like that. i think mine is a combination of needing some vacuum valves replaced and the timming reset.

[MrBen]

Well I've had my vacuum lines scoped and none of them are leaking, so I know that is not the problem.

Today it was especially weird. I did not let it warm up. I drove about 5 minutes, shut off the car, it did it's usual dieseling. I cam back out and it wouldn't start. I had to depress the accellerator to the floor and keep it there while cranking. Then it went up to 3 grand, to 4, to 3, to 4 all within maybe a minute. Then it kicked down to 3, to 1.5, then to regular when it warmed up. It read very hot while doing this, yet when I drove it it went down to halfway and then below.

[A20A1]

Change your thermostat and... well bleed your cooling system again.

[wprocomp]

are the fans working ok?....what about the radiator...has it ever been replaced?

[MrBen]

Radiator is fine... it was pressure tested. He said it's just fine.

About the fans, I'm fairly sure they're working okay. Not too sure on that.

The car has always had this idle problem... it used to be it would just idle at like 2k and be really annoying. Just recently is it pulling this crap.

What about this "Choke Stat"? He says it is old and slow. What is it? And do you think its the probkem?

[A20A1]

I have no Idea what he ment but the electric choke has the one wire coming out of it. But there are vacuum lines also related to the choke that run down to the thermostats at the rear of the intake manifold.

What is your coolant mix? maybe the water is getting frozen?

[wprocomp]

this is what he may mean...the part with the black housing....
http://images.cardomain.com/member_images/8/web/356000-356999/356257_21_full.jpg
thats the choke...maybe it needs replacing?

[MrBen]

Well it isn't freezing at night anymore, just cold. Right now is in the lower 40's so I would guess it is in the upper 30's at night.

And you may be right, he said it was something to do with the electric choke. He says "Choke is a little slow to open- would need choke stat replaced, about $185.00 P&L." I remember him saying it just took a long time for it to warm up fully. Which is true, because the car never does this when it's warm.

[A20A1]

This might help

[MrBen]

Thanks!

For a guy with no carb experience, is this something I should tackle?

[89 Accords Rock]

Yeah mine also does that. The reason your car wouldnt start is because it flooded Mine does it all the time. Because the car chokes on its fumes and its not turning over enough to make the car have combustion so the gasoline floods the engine. You can do 1 of 2 things to fix that . Carry some quick start with you and spray it into your carb OR You can let the car sit there for likr 10 minutes and it will solve the problem. It happens all the time to me.

[MrBen]

Well it hasn't been doing this high idle thing quite as bad lately. I am guessing because it is a few degrees warmer at night. I can deal with it for now... considering it doesn't do this in the summertime. Hopefully it doesn't get too much worse.

It does get flooded in the summer though, and I usually depress the pedal to the floor while starting and it is fine.

[MrBen]

Well it was back to the high revving idle today. It froze last night. The night before it didn't freeze and I didn't have a problem with the high idle.

I noticed that when I press the clutch in when I'm driving with it idleing around 2 grand (if it's still warming up), the idle drops a little bit. Normal?

[mowery]

Been there done that. I hated the thing revving to 4K at red lights.

Here's how I fixed mine that was doing the EXACT same thing: Used a hand vacuum pump to determine that the diaphram in my "choke puller" in the pic above was shot. So I had to replace that unit. I also replaced my electric choke heater since mine was "old and tired". My fast idle unloader passed the tests, so I haven't replaced it yet. Also sprayed lots of carb cleaner everywhere on the springs, etc.

My car now goes thru the proper idle step-downs in a timely manner. I bought the parts thru the Majestic site that is often mentioned on here. DO NOT go to a local dealer unless you have money to waste!!!

[MrBen]

Did you replace it yourself? How much was it total? Including shipping? I really am getting irritated with this thing. It's wasting my gas and time.

Thanks for your help. I am glad to know someone else out there had the same problem. Thought I was alone on this one.

[mowery]

It wasn't hard to swap out the parts. You have to drill out the rivets on the choke heater mounting to put the new one on. (Be sure to mark the orientation before removing the old one!)

I forgot the exact amounts, I'll go look... It looks like the choke opener/unloader is 35 and the electric choke is 85.

http://www.hondaautomotiveparts.com/

Before spending money though, you really need to verify a part actually needs replacement. Use either a manual or search these archives here on how to check these things. A hand vacuum pump is *invaluable* for troubleshooting these carb systems!

As stated above, you ought to also check *every* vacuum line under the hood for leaks also... Just one leak somewhere will cause big trouble depending on which system it controls.

[Re-reading your first few posts above, mine did the radiator spurt also one time... I think it must do that when the engine is racing before the t'stat opens and the pressure in the system causes it to relieve thru the radiator cap seal. (mine was still the original 14 year old cap. now replaced!)]

[MrBen]

Well I made an appointment for this to get done on Friday. He says 185 bucks and that's fine with me. I don't want to wait for the parts to come in and it is getting colder and colder here (15 degrees tonight), so it needs to get fixed. Thanks for your little how-to.

I'll let you all know the outcome.

[MrBen]

Fixed! Car purrs nicely at 750rpm, the best idle ever. Warming up is a cinch... I can now kick it down and go if I need to. Goes through proper warming up cycle as well.

$185.00